Travel to Algiers
The US State Department warns against travel to certain parts of the country. In Algiers, most of the interesting sights are in the old part of the city known as the Casbah or Medina. The travelers that do make it to Algiers are impressed with the very friendly and hospitable people. The old French buildings, the promenade along the seafront and the food also get good ratings.
Get in
By plane
Houari Boumediene Airport (ICAO: DAAG, IATA: ALG) is located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Algiers: the airport is named after former Algerian president Houari Boumediene. The terminal building is rather modern and relatively hassle-free, comparable to airports in southern Europe.
The airport is the home base of the flag-carrier Air Algérie.
Air Algerie serves the most important Algerian cities (such as Oran, Annaba, Tammanrasset, Skikda, Tlemcen, Constantine) several times daily. There also many connections to African capitals such as Bamako, Cairo, Abidjan, Dakar, Tunis, and Ouagadougo.
Air Algerie operates from Hall 1 as Hall 2 is reserved for the international airlines.
International Airlines
- Aigle Azur (Basel/Mulhouse, Lille, Lyon, Nice (seasonal), Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Toulouse)
- Air Berlin (Cologne-Bonn)
- Air France (Marseilles, Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
- Air Méditerranée (Montepellier)
- Alitalia (Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino)
- British Airways (London-Gatwick)
- Egypt Air (Cairo)
- Emirates (Dubai)
- Iberia (Madrid)
- Jetairfly (Brussels, Seasonal)
- Libyan Airlines (Tripoli)
- Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
- Middle East Airlines (Beirut)
- Qatar Airways (Doha)
- Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca ,Oudja)
- Saudi Arabian Airlines (Jeddah)
- Syrian Arab Airlines (Aleppo, Damascus)
- TAP Portugal (Lisbon)
- Tunisair (Tunis)
- Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
Airport Transfer
- Taxi, (Outside of Hall 2). Taxis can be found outside of the Hall 2; as they have no taximeters, a price should be settled in advance. The ride to Algiers Center takes up to 50 min during heavy traffic and should not cost more than 1000 dinars (10euro).
- Bus. The bus operates every 30 min in the daytime to the Centre. It costs 25 dinars paid to the bus driver.
By train
Algiers Central Train Station is located near the city centre. The station offers regular services to major Algerian cities such as Oran, Annaba, and Constantine. SNTF (the national Algerian Train company) has made big improvements during the last years: new air-conditioned trains have been purchased and new routes launched.
By car
Being the capital of the country most, if not all major roadways in Algeria begin and end in Algiers. So getting into Algiers is quite easy. However, the infrastructure of Algerian roadways is not highly regarded so arriving by road might not be the most desirable option. There are a number of road projects around the country that are aimed at improving the infrastructure, most notably the East-West highway running from Annaba in the east to Oran in the west, of course coming through Algiers.
By bus
La Gare Routiere, Algiers’s central bus terminus, located in the commune of Hussein Dey (about 7-10 min drive from downtown), offers a plethora of bus services to most major Algerian cities and towns. It is a very cheap and efficient way to get to/from a pair of Algerian cities. Most of the coaches used are modern and air-conditioned so the rides are, more often than not, comfortable. However, there are a few old coaches still in service, so try to avoid those, for the ride won’t be as pleasant.
For long distances as Algiers-Tammanrasset or Algiers-Annaba travelling by plane is recommend due the long duration.
By boat
They are regular ferry services to Algiers from Marseille, Nice, Palermo, Alicante .
